EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The margin for error for the Ohio State men's basketball team has been
close to nil for a while now. The Buckeyes, who have found scoring a challenge all season, lately
haven't played defense as well as they once did, so any lapse, no matter how small, can be
fatal.

So it was last night, when No. 8 Michigan State took control of the game in less than three
minutes of the first half, maintained it the rest of the way and handed the Buckeyes their third
loss in the past four games, 67-58 in the Breslin Center.

A 16-3 run that included five three-point baskets in six possessions turned a four-point deficit
into a nine-point lead with 4:44 left, and Ohio State did not get closer than seven points the rest
of the game.

To that point, Michigan State had missed 11 of its first 15 shots from the field as the Buckeyes
played better defense in the wake of a less-than-inspired effort in a loss at Minnesota on
Saturday.

"I thought we did some things better tonight. We had some guys that made some plays," coach Thad
Matta said.

"What we need is the consistency. That's the thing right now that I see. We show throughout the
course (of a game), as a young basketball team, that we can play solid basketball. Then, all of a
sudden, it disappears. Then, here we come again.

"I'm just trying to get these guys to understand that the 40-minute flow of what we have to do
is huge for us."

Ohio State (10-3 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) was led by freshmen William Buford with a career-high 17
points and B.J. Mullens with 16, including 12 in the second half. Evan Turner added 14 points and
10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.

"Michigan State played behind me ... was going one on one down there, and I'm taller than my
opponent and have an advantage on him and just did what I could," Mullens said. "My teammates saw
that and we got the ball in there."

Kalin Lucas scored 20 points to lead the Spartans (12-2, 3-0), who were rewarded by coach Tom
Izzo with their first day off today since Christmas. They have won eight straight games heading
into a nonconference home game against Kansas on Saturday.

"We found a way to win and that's the name of the game," Izzo said, "but I'm not sure we took a
step forward as far as getting better. We had our moments. We just didn't look very quick. I think
it was more fatigue.

"But we did the things we wanted to do as far as making Turner earn his points. I thought we did
a great job on (Jon) Diebler and Turner."

Diebler, coming off games against Iowa and Minnesota in which he made 12 three-point baskets,
had one and scored seven points against the Spartans.

"We kept in the game with a good team, and they did what they had to do," said Turner, who took
no solace in the effort. "We were up once again and let our guard down. They hit five straight
threes. Kudos to them. That was a big run on their part and they maintained control for the rest of
the game."

The threes, from four players, gave Michigan State a 29-20 lead with 4:44 left in the first
half. The Spartans led by 11 at halftime as Ohio State scored only six points the last eight
minutes of the half.

The margin grew to 16 in the first minute of the second half, but unlike at Minnesota, the
Buckeyes refused to let it get away from them. They got as close as 44-37 with 13:21 left before
Michigan State gradually rebuilt its lead to as much as 15 points.

"Winning on the road is the hardest thing to do," Turner said. "When you've got a team down,
you've got to hold them down. You can't let them back into the game."